How far do I have to go to get to you....many the miles....

Sorry for being a slacker with this blogging thing... These days have been suuuuper busy. I'm running, AND making cupcakes like no one's business. Last night, for example, I ran the farthest I have ever run in my life (at one time) - 9 miles!!! I also made 3 dozen A+ apple cupcakes for office lady appreciation day at school. The run was exhilerating - I got rained AND hailed on. But I think if it were raining during the half marathon, I could probably do it...twice. I just adore running in the rain. The lightning and hail I could do without. But hey, no one ever said that this would be a painless process. It actually makes it just a little more meaningful - because it is not easy!

The cupcake-making/being on my feet for 3 hrs after the 9 mile run wasn't as much fun. I'm super happy with the cupcakes though. They're pretty presh. Here are some pictures of the ones I made last night (the apple ones) and some I made over the weekend....(the owl ones):

I'm having such a great time making cupcakes! I'm so excited that I get to do this for my summer job! I'm making graduation cupcakes for my sisters' graduation party this weekend, stay tuned.... 
We're about a month away from school being over here at St. Mary's. Nathan's last day of classes at TU was Monday. He's still got some finals to knock out, and I still have my patriotic assembly to pull off. Its gonna be pretty cute. These childern are just absolutely precious. I'll miss them over the summer...but not too much. : )

Countdowns:

My baby sisters graduate - 16 days
Half Marathon - 24 days
Last day of school - 30 days
Colorado - 38 days
One year anniversary - 45 days

Fun times, people!

G

Six days and counting until I can have a Mountain Dew...

Mountain Dew is calling my NAAAAAAAME! 6 more days and I can have all I want. Giving it up for Lent has been good for me. If for no other reason than the fact that sometimes it is good to deprive yourself of things. We don't always get what we want. Thats just the way it is. I also feel like I can empathize with all of my Catholic co-workers - even though I can eat whatever kind of meat I want to on Fridays. Haha. Also, the suffering that Jesus endured was, obviously, way worse than my nostalgia over Mt. Dew. Puts things in perspective white a bit.

This really is quite a lovely time of year. This morning Liz and I went for a 6 mile run at 5 AM. Sounds disgusting, but I love starting my day this way. It an awesome way to wake up and get the juices flowing. It makes for pretty full days though. I haven't gotten up at 4:45 in years. Liz and I are both getting pretty excited about the Half-Marathon in 5 weeks!!! Hard to believe it is coming up that quick, but we're right on track (pun intended, or not).

I have 3 orders of cupcakes this week. Wedesday I'm making an order for Nathan's Junior Voice recital at TU. Should be pretty awesome. Friday is my day to bring dessert at school and everyone is requesting cupcakes so I'll probably make some for that. And Saturday I have an order of owl cupcakes to do for a birthday party. Busy week in cupcakes, should be fun! Too bad I'm only getting paid for 1 order out of the 3. I'm alright with it.

My first year of teaching is coming to a close and it has been a successful one! I have made great friends in the teachers I teach with and have gotten to know some really precious children and parents. I can't wait for what next year holds for me at School of St. Mary! First things first, though, is my patriotic assembly on May 10th! Also coming up incredibly fast. Should be fun and entertaining for all. The kids are excited about it, and I've actually be able to teach them some pretty impressive stuff! Its such a cool experience to be able to teach children to be musically literate. I can't imagine not being able to read music - it is definitely quite the gift to be given. I absolutely love that I get to be the person to give that gift to children. It really is pretty special. Of course that is not all I do, but it is a wonderful part of the job. Its also amazing to see students who struggle with classroom work completely blow their classmates out of the water on a musical instrument. I love being a part of that child getting his/her chance to shine - there's just nothing sweeter as a music teacher. I can't figure out how to not make that rhyme. In other words, I love my job - and I'm grateful that I get to do this for a living - talk to sweet kids all day and share the most precious of gifts.

Need to get off of here and go get the remainder of my cupcake supplies so I can start on those bad boys. I'll be sure to post pictures of all of them soon. Hope you're reading this in good health and peace of mind. Have a lovely and blessed week, friends.

Gracie

LOVE this time of year!

Everything seems to have turned green over night! I adore it!!!

So last week was a big week for the Hearns. Nathan had rehearsal every night, a recital jury, NATS (college solo singing competition), and a concert on Saturday night to perform in. It was lonely without him, but good for me in some ways. I thought I would be miserable all week without him, but I was able to work on being a little more independant - something I struggle with, so it was good! I also got a lot done and was even able to enjoy some alone time. Thats a big deal for me! Nathan's concert was absolutely sensational, and I got to go with his mom, sister Bethany, and both of my parents. He also passed his recital jury with flying colors - made one of the judges cry. Thats how you know you did great. I'm so SO proud of him.

I had work all week, and 2 cupcake orders due in the same weekend (first time that has happened...) and I spent a lot of my time in the evenings either running, cleaning house, or making cupcake decorations. I made 96 tiny flowers last week and the cupcakes turned out beautifully! I also ran a total of 22.11 miles last week, and 15 of those miles were within 3 days! Because of all that, I won King of the Road for my third time! SO proud of that. I had a great running week, and I am super encouraged and hopeful for the half marathon in just 6 short weeks. My heart races just thinking about it!

Here is my weekend in cupcakes - the flower cupcakes were for a bridal shower on Saturday afternoon, and the "R" cupcakes were for a baby shower on Sunday afternoon. Had a lot of fun with them, and was also able to make some Eastery sprinkled cupcakes with extra supplies!

Hope everyone is enjoying this beautiful Spring season. I'm treasuring every day. Oh yes, Nathan and I are officially going to Colorado the first week in June for our 1st anniversary! Can't wait for that - we're going to re-live our honeymoon on a smaller scale. Gonna be a blast.

Thats all for now - have a blessed and safe week, friends!

Grace

These are the days of our lives

What a busy time. I've started this cupcake thing, and I love it, its just a lot of work. Also, I've started this half-marathon thing. I've put a lot of hard work into it - quitting isn't an option. Also, I have a full-time job, and an apartment to keep clean, and dishes to wash and clothes to fold. Oh yes, and I'm also married. Haven't seen my husband since Monday. This might not seem very long to most people, but it feels like forever to me. There are the times I have told him goodbye in the morning while he's still asleep, and the times he has told me goodnight when he comes home and I'm already in bed - but I don't really think that counts. Trying really hard to keep everything in perspective..."This isn't permanent, its just for a little while..." Not the easiest time in the world, but it'll be over soon.

I've been lacking motivation to run lately. That's kind of putting it nicely - I've actually been dreading my runs. So yesterday I took off for a 3.5 miler and decided not to take anything but my apartment key - no phone, no iPod, no running belt. I didn't actually have a purpose for doing this, I just felt bogged down and terrible about the run even before I had started. Well once I started running, I didn't miss my music, I didn't even really think about it much - I just started praying.

I prayed for all of the people in the apartment buildings I was running by. I prayed for kids on school buses, for the people in the cars that drove by. When I ran by a school I prayed for all the people that attend/work there. Anything I saw, I prayed for. What did I pray? I prayed that God would bring healing to broken families and anyone affected by them, that He would restore hope to people who have given up, that He would draw children to Himself at a young age so that they wouldn't have to go through the heartache that bad decisions bring to so many. I prayed for parents to be godly examples to their children by making God a priority, and having an authentic relationship with him that makes their lives different from other people. I prayed that young families would choose to put God first in their homes. I prayed most of all that he would reveal to the people of Owasso who do not know Him their need for a Savior.

I can't really explain it, but this was such a special time to me. God has laid on my heart to dedicate the time that I spend running to prayer for the people of Owasso and the people in my life. God revealed a lot to me through my running/prayer time yesterday - and I am so grateful because now I'm looking forward to my run today! How amazing God is, that He could help me to have motivation, and that He would reveal Himself to me in spite of myself.

"Everyone should be both conservative and radical. Conservative in preserving our faith, and radical in applying it." (Don't know who said it, I think it was from a sermon at church, but I love it!)

Have an awesome day.

Grace

Ladybug Cupakes!!!

I made 2 dozen cupcakes and a "smasher" cake for little Brooke Weston's 1st birthday party! I am so excited about these! I had a lot of fun with 'em.

I love these cupcakes - hope you enjoy the pictures!
Grace